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Costumes
Michael Jackson rehearsed about 18 songs for This Is It, each with its own outfit. Some outfits were similar to the ones used on BAD, Dangerous and HIStory tours, some however were dramatically different. Michael Bush and Zaldy Michael Jackson had worked with the costume designer Michael Bush for 31 years and, even though he called Bush also for "This Is It", Travis Payne decided to call also a New York designer called Zaldy, which accepted the task. Differences from the older costumes For this costumes Zaldy and Bush used the most advanced technology. Michael Bush affirmed that it was the first time he put crystals on the Billie Jean costume and that during the working you must wear sunglasses because the crystals reflected lots of light. Zaldy also told that he had worked with Swarovski and that he created the "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" costume with 300000 crystals. Costumes This Is It announcement For the announcement, Jackson wore a black shirt with flowers and army symbols on shoulders, as well as a pair of black pants and sunglasses. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' Rehearsal outfits For the rehearsals, Michael wore the following outfits: # A silver jacket with an azure shirt inside, as well as red pants and sunglasses # A grey jacket with red shirt inside and black pants Wbss1.png Wbss2.png Final outfit This outfit was inspired from the Light Man intro sequence which reminded Zaldy of a robot. The outfit is made of Swarowski crystals and also included a pair of shoes and sunglasses. The shoulders were a last minute decition and were Michael's idea. Michael was only ever able to try on the pants and shoulders before he died, which brought a smile to his face. The outfit was completed following Michael's death. Ih2vi.jpg|The opening outfit. Ihviw.jpg|The Swarovski crystal glasses. I2viw.jpg|The custom shoes for the opening outfit. Michael-Jackson-by-Zaldy-1-500x721.jpg|Michael happily wearing the shoulders. Smooth Criminal The TII Smooth Criminal outfit was designed by Michael Bush and his longtime partner, Dennis Thompkins. Unlike previous tours, where Michael only wore the jacket, fedora, and anti-gravity shoes, Michael would've worn a complete recreation of the original outfit from his 1988 anthology film, "Moonwalker". It was one of the few TII outfits that Michael wore in their entirety. In addition to destining Michael's outfit for this song, Bush and Thompkins also designed the suits worn by the backup dancers. Michael-Jackson-by-Zaldy-500x721.jpg|Michael wearing the Smooth Criminal outfit during shooting for the song's opening vignette. The Way You Make Me Feel Michael Bush handled the shirt for "The Way You Make Me Feel". Like the original outfit, it was a blue shirt with a white cloth belt. As the performance of the song for This Is It would've featured the intro from the 1988 Grammy Awards, the outfit would've most likely featured a fedora, as well. The shirt was made of China silk, and had heat-pressed designs of crowns, a lion, and a cherub, all of which were classic pop regalia images. Michael can be seen wearing this shirt for one of the song's rehearsals in the film. The Way You Make Me Feel TII rehearsal.jpg|Michael wearing Bush's redesigned shirt for The Way You Make Me Feel during rehearsals. The Way You Make Me Feel TII (back).jpg|The back of the The Way You Make Me Feel shirt (from Michael Bush's book, "The King of Style"). Jackson 5 Medley Zaldy primarily designed the J5 Medley outfit, which was a shiny, purple suit with a dip-dye of bugle beads and crystals covering the shoulders and waist. The white dress shirt was velcroed up the back so it would be easier to take off. The tie was made of metal and shaped like the peace sign. After being informed of Michael's love for spats, Zaldy made the decision to add those to the outfit. The original idea for the outfit's footwear was a boot with spats built onto them. However, they were ultimately deemed too rigid and proved too difficult for Michael to get in and out of. Zaldy instead took a pair of loafers and added spats to them that were flexible and velcroed up the back. Michael never saw the completed version of the outfit. However, he did wear an early version of the outfit that lacked the beads. Michael-Jackson-.jpg|The J5 Medley costume. Zaldy-1-500x721.jpg|The J5 Medley shoes. 105144 this-suit-was-for-a-jackson-five-medley.jpg|Michael wearing a near-completed version of the J5 Medley suit. J5 Medley shoe prototype.jpg|The J5 Medley shoe prototype. I Just Can't Stop Loving You The " I Just Can't Stop Loving You" jacket was made by Bush and Thompkins, as noted in Bush's book, "The King of Style". The golden fabric used to make it was typically found on the interior of Mexican low-rider cars and wasn't meant as a fabric to be worn. Despite this, Dennis Thompkins was able to make it work. The jacket was made to look bulky, but feel weightless when worn, and everywhere it caught light, it appeared to change color. Michael wore jacket during a rehearsal for the J5 Medley in the film. I Just Can't Stop Loving You TII.jpg|The I Just Can't Stop Loving You jacket. I'll Be There TII rehearsal.jpg|Michael rehearsing "I'll Be There" with the IJCSLY jacket. Black Or White Zaldy designed the main outfit for "Black or White", while Bush and Thompkins designed a backup shirt. Zaldy's version aimed to match the hard rock feel of the song, so he crafted a leather jacket with black and gold colored studs patterned to make it look samurai-themed. It took five days for Zaldy's team to determine exactly how they wanted each individual stud to be placed. The studding made the jacket heavy, around ten pounds according to Zaldy. The jacket also lacked any buttons or zippers, so Michael could take it off with ease. Zaldy also created studded loafers for the outfit. Knowing how much Michael loved the familiar feel of his usual Florsheim loafers, Zaldy and his team went to great lengths to ensure that the studded loafers wouldn't feel any different from his usual loafers. At one point, they ended up cutting one of the shoes open so they could make sure that it would fit Michael's foot perfectly. As noted in his book, "The King of Style", Bush created a backup shirt for the song. It was a white shirt (much like the original outfit) with a winged skull on the left shoulder that wrapped around the left arm. The right hip featured the image of a royal emblem in gray and gold. The tail was six inches longer than Michael's previous tour shirts to create an extra effect of movement and fluidity. Michael can be seen wearing this shirt in the movie, during the scene where he directs Orianthi on her guitar solo at the end of "Black or White. Black or White TII jacket on display.jpg|Zaldy's Black or White jacket. Blackorwhiteshoes.png|Black or White shoes. Black or White TII (alternate).jpg|Bush and Thompkins' Black or White shirt. Black or White TII (alternate) emblem.jpg|The emblem on the Black or White alternate shirt. Black or White TII rehearsal.jpg|Michael wearing the alternate Black or White shirt while instructing Orianthi on her ending solo. Billie Jean "Billie Jean" was the first outfit that Zaldy came up with when he was hired for This Is It. The look of the outfit was very faithful to the original Motown 25 look, but with more refined sequins. Inspired by the glowing tiles from the song's short film, Zaldy worked with Phillips Lumalive to create a version of the iconic outfit that would light up in different patterns. The lighting was accomplished through LED textiles made in the outfit's socks, pant stripes, the sides of the jacket, and the glove. The lighting would've been operated by someone backstage using a remote control. Michael got to try the pants on before he died and saw how the lights worked. He was so thrilled with Zaldy's work that he declared, "It's everything I've always wanted." Bush and Thompkins also created a secondary jacket for this outfit that was also intended to light up, with lights installed all around it. After watching Michael during a rehearsal prior to his death, Bush and Thompkins were concerned that he wouldn't be able to handle its weight (8 pounds). With Michael's approval, they started to make a version of the jacket that didn't light up, but they never finished it before Michael died. = Billiejeanjacket.png|The TII Billie Jean jacket and glove. Billiejeanglove.png|The lighting test for the Billie Jean glove. Billie Jean TII rainbow lights.jpg|The Billie Jean outfit's rainbow light pattern 155765280093035.gif|The full outfit lighting up. Thriller Zaldy made the main jacket for "Thriller". This version of the jacket used embroidered blood on the shoulders in place of the original quilting, a detail that Michael loved. The inside of the jacket contained the image of the werecat from the "Thriller" short film biting into a Swarovski crystal, an easter egg which Michael never saw. Zaldy also designed a pair of red and black loafers to go with the jacket, but these shoes were purely optional. Bush and Thompkins were in the midst of creating a backup jacket for "Thriller", but it was never finished before Michael died. This version of the jacket used red plastic holograms that caught light and, as Bush hoped it would, add depth to the classic look. Mj-this-is-it-thriller-jacket-2.jpg|The main TII Thriller jacket. 0012.png|The optional Thriller shoes. Global Jacket Intended for any of the globally themed songs ("Earth Song", "We Are the World" / "Heal the World", and "Will You Be There"), this colorful jacket was made using beading from around the world. The jacket used embroidery from China and India, Native American patchwork done in leather, featured an armband to echo Michael's love for the military, had a zipper running down the back, and gold plating that was designed to shake when Michael danced. The lower right-hand side of the jacket featured the words "heal the world" written in Arabic text. Prior to his death, the most Michael ever saw of this outfit was the full 3D paper layout. Michael+Jackson+Official+Exhibition+Press+JM1MbN-a A-l.jpg|The global songs jacket. Man in the Mirror The "Man in the Mirror" jacket for "This Is It" would've been military themed. The jacket featured layers of Swarovski crystals in a patten running the front, while the collar and shoulders were stacked with additional crystals. Some crystals were also hidden in the jacket's waistband. Michael compared the crystals to "hidden treasure". Michael wore an early version of the jacket that was black in color and only had an outline of the zipper that would go on the front. The final version of the jacket was dark lavender and had the zipper installed. Man in the Mirror TII.JPG|The Man in the Mirror jacket for This Is It. This-Is-It-Costume-Fitting-michael-jackson-10578260-614-463.jpg|Michael wearing a black version of the Man in the Mirror jacket. Category:Clothing